United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Cornelis Johannes Matthijssen of the Netherlands as Force Commander of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
The World Food Programme (WFP) warns that 8.7 million people are at risk of facing famine-like conditions in Afghanistan, with an additional 14.1 million facing crisis levels of acute food insecurity. Conflict has displaced more than 600,000 people and the country is experiencing drought following a poor rainy season.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez (Mexico):
Issuing a warning to Member States about the ongoing threat of terrorism in Mali, delegates also called for elections there next February and noted signs of progress in Niger as they briefed Member States on the Security Council mission to those countries from 22 to 26 October 2021.
The heads of nine United Nations agencies and the Global Water Partnership issued an urgent call to Governments to prioritize integrated water and climate action. The letter, addressed to the world’s Heads of State and Government, was released on the eve of the Organization’s climate change summit in Glasgow.
Amid intensifying insecurity and a worsening humanitarian situation in Mali, profound political and governance reforms are crucial to creating the conditions for credible elections and enduring stability, the senior United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says more children and women were abducted for ransom between January and August 2021 than during the entire 2020. UNICEF estimates based on official sources say 71 women and 30 children were abducted in the first eight months of 2021, and 59 women and 37 children in 2020.
United Nations officials in Mali welcomed the Government’s pledge to reintegrate 13,000 former combatants by the end of 2021 and additional 13,000 within the next three years. They also praised willingness of the Malian parties to proceed with the socioeconomic reintegration of ex-combatants that are already registered.
In Afghanistan, the World Health Organization reports that since 30 August, nine flights have arrived with health‑care supplies for 2.5 million people. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is also scaling up emergency aid due to the conflict, supporting nearly 4,500 internally displaced people.
The Secretary-General spoke at the opening ceremony of the fifteenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 15) in Barbados and repeated his call to donors and multilateral development banks to allocate at least 50 per cent of their climate support towards adaptation and resilience.
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council resident Martin Kimani (Kenya):
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary‑General António Guterres:
Marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the Secretary-General told the General Assembly high-level event that the nuclear threat has reached its highest level in close to 40 years and urged States to support the goals of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2374 (2017) concerning Mali calls on all Member States to take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of individuals designated by the Committee, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of the aforementioned resolution.
The Office for Children and Armed Conflict says the United Nations and the Plateforme coalition of armed movements in Mali signed new action plans by which the latter committed to release all child recruits, end military use of schools, and guarantee unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance to all children.
The Security Council today renewed until 31 August 2022 the travel ban and asset freeze imposed through resolution 2374 (2017) against individuals and entities obstructing implementation of the 2015 Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali.
At least 527 civilians were killed, injured, abducted or just disappeared, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) says in its quarterly report on trends in human rights violations and abuses, an overall increase of more than 25 per cent from the first quarter.
A devastating combination of a severe drought – the worst in 40 years – sandstorms and pest infestations have led to crop losses of up to 60 per cent in Madagascar, where the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Grand Sud. People have resorted to eating locusts, raw red cactus fruits or wild leaves.
The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) reports that it has facilitated discussions between the Hema and Bira communities in Irumu territory in Ituri. As a result, the rival groups signed a protocol of non-aggression and cessation of violence.
Health authorities in Guinea, supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), have confirmed the country’s first case of Marburg virus. The United Nations team on the ground is bolstering urgent infection prevention and control measures, such as contact tracing, while strengthening treatment capacity and risk communication.
